Lord make me an instrument of your peace – Join the “Volunteering Group of Archdiocese”
Responding to the invitation of Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang (Saigon Archdiocese), with the encouragement of the Provincial Superior, many brothers of the Saint Alphonsus Theologate have signed up to join the “Volunteer Group of Religious” to serve covid-19 patients.
After considering the health and medical conditions on the evening of July 21, 2021, the Office of the Archdiocese Saigon announced a list of 206 religious brothers and sisters who volunteered to serve covid-19 patients, including many Redemptorist brothers.
On the morning of July 22, at the Theologate’s chapel, Fr. Joseph Do Dinh Tu presided over the Mass to pray for peace and commissioned the mission to care for the covid patients. After Mass, our Redemptorist brothers officially set out to serve, with the belief that God is working with them (cf. Mk 16:20).
This is a very good opportunity for Redemptorists to immerse themselves in the mission of their consecrated vocation. We continue to pray for these brothers as well as for all the doctors, nurses, and medical volunteers to be safe and to have the energy to serve.
Reaching out to the poor and the most abandoned
Thanks to the generosity of the benefactors, who helped this week together with the theologians of Saint Alphonsus Theologate who managed to buy more than 3 tons of rice, 3 quintals of vegetables, 200 bottles of fish sauce, 200 bottles of cooking oil, 1,000 eggs, 1,000 packs of noodles to give out to the poor families living around the Theologate.
After sharing with the poor in the afternoon of July 21, a brother was touched and moved when he saw “The poor man burst into tears when he received 10 kg of rice. Indeed, it is not the religious who “preach” to the poor, but it is the poor who “evangelize” the religious.”
The situation of the Covid-19 pandemic
On the morning of July 20, the Ministry of Health announced 2,155 new cases of Covid-19, of which 2,154 cases were recorded domestically in 24 provinces and cities; Ho Chi Minh City alone has 1,519 cases. According to the Ministry of Health, 2,155 newly announced cases recorded from 6:30 pm on July 19 to 6 am the morning the next day were the 58,026 – 60,180 Covid-19 patients in Vietnam. From the beginning of the epidemic (January 2020) to the present, Vietnam has a total of 60,180 cases, of which 58,100 are domestic cases and 2,080 imported cases. The number of new cases recorded in the country from the 4th outbreak (April 27) to date is 56,530 cases, of which 8,273 patients have been declared cured.
Duc Trung Vu CSSR
